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Tales from the peloton, September 16, 2008

Garcia Galicia's cycling saviour?

The current economic climate in professional cycling means that a win can
mean the survival of a team. Exposure for sponsors isn't always enough when
it's winning that counts the most. David Garcia Dapena's brave victory in stage
15 of the Vuelta could be the tonic Galician cycling is looking for after hard
times of its own.

Xacobeo Galicia is one of those rare gems you generally only find in the Vuelta.
A Continental team with a very modest budget and riders keen to do more than
just sit in the bunch all day, the Galicians enjoy lighting up the action on
the road. David Garcia Dapena rode away from his rivals in the final kilometres
of stage 15 to score
one of the squad's biggest victories.

So precarious in its financial position, Garcia's win and Ezequiel Mosquera's
high overall placing (he is fourth after stage 15) may be enough to save the
team from falling apart. Garcia emphasised this in the winner's press conference,
saying, "It was great that the sponsor took over mid-season [the team changed
from Karpin Galicia to Xacobeo Galicia in August]. I hope they will stay with
it for many years to come. This would help cycling in Galicia, which is in the
process of growing tremendously."

The squad began 2007 as Karpin-Galicia, a year in which four of the nine Spanish
professional cycling teams left the sport. With the withdrawal of Valery Karpin,
a construction company based in the Galego region, it appeared as though the
squad's riders may have to join the list of those looking for another team to
ride for.

That uncertainty has been eased during this year's Vuelta. Xacobeo Galicia
has had an outstanding race so far, with stages 14 and 15 the highlights. September
14 was a potentially definitive day as Ezequiel Mosquera dropped Carlos Sastre
over the stage's final climb to move within 54 seconds of a podium spot.

The next day it was Garcia's turn. He set out with a plan for the general classification,
which he explained after it bore fruit on his trying to make it stick. It was
simple: "I wanted to be in the top 15 in Madrid," he said. Thanks
to his intelligent ride and some slack from the peloton - it trickled in almost
15 minutes after the stage winner - Garcia moved from 23rd to 13th overall.

Another dream for the 28-year-old was to win a stage in a race like the Vuelta.
With this now under his belt, all that's left is to win a major multi-stage
event. Although that doesn't appear likely in this Vuelta, his overall victory
in the Presidential
Cycling Tour of Turkey was the fulfilment of that particular aspiration.

Strength and luck

It seems only natural that the stage is set for Garcia to launch into the next
phase of his career, which promises to be bring more victories. The man from
Pontevedra is feeling strong these days, getting himself in a break prior to
the one which helped him to the win yesterday.

Although not given too much leeway by Caisse d'Epargne on that occasion, it
provided him with the impoetus to return to the pointy end of the field the
next day against the likes of Nick Nuyens, Juan Manuel Garate and David Arroyo;
something that doesn't come often for a pro continental rider. "This is
practically unimaginable," Garcia beamed after the stage.

Garcia knew what he had to do in order to achieve his top-15 placing and he
realised the chance may not come again. Contrary to many breakaway attempts,
it was intuitive, intelligent racing. "Today was a good day to be in the
break," he said. "On other days the sprinters' teams will be controlling
it again. Otherwise, there is only Saturday left to shuffle the general classification
a bit."

The fact that on a sunny day in northern Spain the peloton was not interested
in bringing the escapees back added to Garcia's determination to slip away and
move into 13th overall. The combination of factors - good legs, a relaxed peloton
and favourable weather conditions - made the decision for him, although it still
took some hard work. "It was not easy getting into the break today, but
once I was in it I knew I had a chance to win. Of course in the end you also
need a little bit of luck."

With a solid advantage of 3'15 over 14th-placed Juan Manuel Garate, his fellow
escapee, Garcia's lucky day may just bear fruit both personally and for the
hopes of cycling in his home region when the peloton reaches Madrid on Sunday.